Navy's Williams-Jenkins slotted for complete recovery

An 80-yard scoring strike from quarterback J.T. Barrett to wide receiver Devin Smith and a 61-yard fumble return for touchdown by linebacker Darron Lee were the big plays as Ohio State pulled away for a 34-17 victory over Navy in front of 57,579 fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Bill Wagner, bwagner@capgaznews.com

At this time last year, Ryan Williams-Jenkins was in a difficult place. When Navy opened the 2013 campaign at Indiana, the tiny slotback was back home in Annapolis sidelined following knee surgery.

Williams-Jenkins tore an anterior cruciate ligament during spring practice when the Alabama native was performing as well as any slotback on the team at the time.

Teammates were inspired by the tenacity with which Williams-Jenkins attacked rehabilitation and remarkably he was able to return to the field and play in seven games last season. However, slotbacks coach Danny O'Rourke said the youngster wasn't quite himself - running with a slight hitch and not quite as fast as before.

Williams-Jenkins showed during Saturday's season opener against Ohio State that he has come all the way back. The 5-foot-8, 163-pound senior showed speed and elusiveness in leading Navy with 118 rushing yards on just seven carries.

"It felt amazing out there today. It was a real blessing to be able to perform well for my team," Williams-Jenkins said. "I've been working real hard to get back and my teammates have been behind me the whole way, encouraging me. I just kept the faith and God took care of me."

Williams-Jenkins helped Navy take a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter by breaking a 67-yard run off an inside handoff. He burst through a big initial hole, made a sharp cut against the grain and outraced several chasing defenders for about 40 yards before finally being tackled from behind by safety Tyvis Powell.

"I thought I was going to score, but then I felt the defender on my back so I just made sure I had the ball high and tight so I wouldn't fumble when I went down," Williams-Jenkins said.

Williams-Jenkins also had runs of 20, 11 and 10 yards in easily reaching a career-high. His previous best rushing output was 42 yards versus East Carolina in October, 2012.

"Honestly, I didn't know I had 100 yards until you just told me," he said. "With God, anything is possible. That's how I approach life."

O'Rourke said during preseason camp that Williams-Jenkins was back running at full-speed and making the type of moves he did prior to the injury, an assessment the player agreed with.

"I definitely feel more confident. It's just due to more rehab and more practice – working on the cuts you've always made," he said. "Once I got my mind right and knew that I could make that cut at full-speed, everything else took care of itself."

It was tough sledding for most of the day against a big, strong, fast and aggressive Ohio State defense. Tackle Michael Bennett, end Joey Bosa and the rest of the Buckeyes' defensive line were as good as advertised and disrupted the triple-option many times by getting into the backfield.

"They were very big, very strong and very good. We knew they were going to be penetrating type of guys," said Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who was sacked twice and thrown for losses on option keepers a couple times. "I'm proud of our offensive line. Those guys fought their butts off and held their own."

Offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper kept adjusting in order to find things that would work and Navy had success with the inside handoff to the slotbacks that is somewhat of a combination of a counter and draw play. The Mids also got some big gains on a pitch play to fullback Chris Swain, who gained 35 yards on three carries.

Navy gained 370 rushing yards, an impressive figure against a defense the caliber of Ohio State. Powell led the Buckeyes with 13 tackles and that was due largely to the fact the Mids broke so many double-digit gains into the secondary.

"Honestly, I don't know if we'll play a tougher team and you're not going to see anything like that all year," said Bennett, a 288-pounder who was limited to two tackles. "The way they ran their offense, the speed they had and their running backs… I've never gone up against running backs that run harder than they do. Their O line is undersized, but they were rough and gave us troubles all day. It's a grind with them. You have to be perfect with them and even then you might get cut. It was a battle all game. Props to Navy."

DEFENSIVE UPS AND DOWNS: It was a mixed bag for the Navy defense, which was firing off the ball and making big plays in the first half, but eventually wore down and gave up some big yardage in the second half.

The Midshipmen got off to a good start by forcing a three-and-out on the game's opening possession and the Buckeyes were held to a field goal on their second drive as a promising drive stalled due to a holding penalty.

Ohio State had another three-and-out on its third possession then blew a golden opportunity to score points when quarterback J.T. Barrett threw an interception after driving the team to the Navy 8-yard-line. Quessenberry got pressure on Barrett, whose underthrown pass was picked off by safety Parrish Gaines.

After Navy took a 14-13 lead early with a touchdown early in the third quarter, the defense came up big again with another fourth down stop as end Will Anthony burst past his blocker and tackled tailback Ezekiel Elliott for a 2-yard loss.

However, it was all downhill from there as Barrett connected with wide receiver Devin Smith on a 80-yard scoring strike then directed long, time-consuming touchdown marches of 78 and 80 yards.

Navy safety Kwazel Bertrand got beat on the long bomb, breaking a Cardinal rule of the defensive coordinator. Green coaches the secondary to never allow the ball to be thrown over their head. It was the longest pass given up by the Mids since Nov. 2004 against Tulane.

Afterward, head coach Ken Niumatalolo said the most frustrating aspect of the touchdown toss was that it came against two-deep coverage. Green had a feeling the Buckeyes might go for the quick strike and had the right defense called, but a mental mistake caused a breakdown.

"They had a shallow cross route and were going to give that up," Niumatalolo said. "We just didn't want to give up the deep ball."

Senior outside linebacker Chris Johnson had a superb performance and led Navy with a career-high 11 tackles, one of which went for loss. Sophomore William Tuider, the other outside backer, was all over the field in recording a career-best nine tackles while Bertrand finished with seven. Quessenberry, a senior left end, had two tackles for loss in addition to the sack and quarterback hurry.

INJURY REPORT: Reserve slotback Dishan Romine and backup guard Nate Otto did not dress due to ankle injuries. Offensive tackle Bradyn Heap and guard E.K. Binns were both treated on the sideline for cramps, but Navy reported no significant injuries.

STARTING LINEUP: Blaze Ryder started at center instead of Tanner Fleming, who wound up playing quite a bit at guard in place of Binns. Sophomore Daniel Gonzales got the start at inside linebacker over senior Jimmy Britton, although it appeared the latter wound up getting more repetitions and finished with four tackles (one for loss).

MID BITS: Navy has rushed for 300 yards or more in seven straight games, which is a school record… Freshman wide receiver Brandon Colon had a 17-yard reception, making an acrobatic grab while tiptoeing the sideline to keep his feet inbounds… Quarterback Keenan Reynolds has now scored at least one rushing touchdown in nine straight games, which ties a school record set by Chris McCoy (1996-97)… Reynolds now has 42 career rushing touchdowns, which ranks third all-time at Navy behind Ricky Dobbs (49) and McCoy (44).